Multicolor-printing press.



No. 632,322. Patented Sept; 5, 1899.

' L URLOFF.

MULTICULOB PRINTING PRESS.

(Application filed June 3, 1897.) (N0 Modei.) 5 Sheets-$heet l.

ATTORNEY n: norms were: no. vuoTmJrua. WASHINGTON n. cy

No. 632,322. Patented Sept. 5, I899.

|.' ORLOFF.

MULTICOLOR PRINTING PRESS.

(Application filed Juan 3, 1897.) (No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheejl.

"7/1 ,nX/u

INYENTOR ATTORNEY WiTNESSES:

No. 632,322. Patented Sept. 5, i899.

. l. DRLOFF.

MULTICULUB PRINTING PRESS.

(Application filed June 3, 1897.)

5 Shooter-Sheet 3,

(Ila Modal.)

1' 2 "mm: PETERS cg" mom-mun. WASHINGTON n c No. 632,322. Patented Sept.5, I899. ORLOFF.

MULTlGOLOB PRINTING PRESS.

(Application filed June 3, 18971) (No M ndel' 5 Sheets-She t 4.

U R v K N S E 1% 1 E U Q W665: Men/Z212? ,7, I 722-2262225 m a Nrrn STIVAN ORLOFF, or sr. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA.

MULTlCOLOR-PRINTING PRESS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 632,322, datedSeptember 5, 1899.

Application filed June 3, 1897. Serial No. 639,200. (No model.)

To In whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, IVAN ORLOFF, a subject of the Emperor of Russia,residing, at St. Petersburg, Russia, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Multicolor- Printing Machines, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention relates to devices for multicolor printing in whichseparate color plates or patterns, one for each color, are inked byseparate inking-rollers and the designs of the said color plates orpatterns transferred to and assembled on a common printing-plate, fromwhich the printing on a sheet of paper or other suitable material iseffected by one impression.

The objects of my invention are, first, to provide means fortransferring the several designs of the color plates or patterns to thecommon printing-plate in an absolutely unchanged condition and withabsolute accuracy in a predetermined relative position with respect toeach other in order to obtain a perfect register of the colors, and,second, to avoid mutual fouling or clouding of the colors in order tokeep the colors clean, even though continuously running the press.

The general object of my invention is therefore to render the saidmulticolor-printing machines applicable to fine or art work hithertoexclusively performed by successively printing the several colors fromindividual printing-plates.

In order to plainly illustrate the merits of my invention above similarmethods hitherto suggested, I shall first fully disclose the technicaleffects of my improved method before describing the devices for carryingout the same represented in the accompanying drawings.

In order to secure a perfect register of the colors assembled on theprinting-plate, the several designs of the color-plates must betransferred to the printing-plate in an unchanged condition and appliedthereto accurately in a determined relative position with respect toeach other. I attain this perfectly by using hard color-plates and ahard printin g-plate not liable to yield'under the pressure of thepress,by mounting both the color-plates and the printing-plates on oneand the same carrier, and by transferring the design of each color-plateto the common printing-plate by means of an elastic transfer-rollerrolling over the color-plate and over the printing-plate without anysliding movement and meeting the same each time in the same relativepositions. The result of this arrangement is as follows: The elasticroller being susceptible of a close contact with the hard color-plate,

as well as with the hard printing-plate, the

color will be perfectly and uniformly transferred from the former to thelatter, and as both plates have a hard surface the design of thecolor-plate Will be sharply reproduced on the transfer-roller andlikewise the design of the printing-plate sharply printed on the paper.However, the picture reproduced on the transfer-roller slightly differsfrom its original, as the elastic transfer-roller undergoes adeformation in the line of Contact with the hard color-plate andreceives the picture 3' ust in that line and in its deformed condition;but as only rolls over the same without sliding, the picture is alwaysreceived by the roller on the same part of its surface and likewisealways delivered by the roller to the same part of the printing-plate.If therefore a plurality of color-plates is provided onthe carrier in afixed position with respect to each other and to the printing-plate, thedesign of each colorplate will be transferred to its proper position onthe printing-plate. Thus the several colorplates having been arrangedeach in a proper position with respect to the printing-plate therespective color designs will be transferred to the printing-plate in aperfectlyregistering condition and finally printed in the same conditionon the paper.

A great inconvenience inherent in the methods hitherto suggested forprinting'in colors consists in that by the successive superimposition ofdifferent colors in a moist condition the single colors foul or cloudeach other in a short time and so more and more modify the color tonesrequired unless the plates and rollers are frequently cleaned, involvingfrequent stopping of the press and much loss of time. In the preferredform of my invention I overcome this inconvenience by combining witheach color-plate a separate transfer-roller and assemble the colors onlyon a hard printing-surface. Thus in the three-color process, forinstance, yellow is never transferred back to the red-color plate noryellow and red to the blue-color plate, as would be the case by using acommon transfer-roller, and the colors of the several color-plates arekept clean. Moreover, the retransfer of colors from the printing-plateback to the transfer-rollers is insignificant, as at each impression acomplete compensation is effected by the clean colors supplied from eachcolor-plate to its respective transfer-roller.- On the one hand, thesupply of color to the printing-plate is obviously but a part of that tothe transfer-rollers, so that only a small quantity of color could betransferred back, and, on the other hand, the tendency of passing ofcolors from the hard printing-plate to the elastic transferrolleris muchless than the reverse. By these combined facts mutual fouling orclouding of the colors is practically prevented, and in such a perfectmanner that even though a press provided with my invention iscontinuously run for several hours without cleaning the plates orrollers the last impression will show the very same tone of colors asthe first one. There may be assembled two or more colors on onetransfer-roller when by the character and the distribution of colors ofthe respective designs mutual fouling of the colors can be prevented.This modification is preferably made use of for producing verycomplicated colored designs.

The colorplates are made of any hard material, preferably of metal, andmay be plain or provided with designs in relief or intaglio. They areinked by the well-known means. The printing-surface is likewiserestricted to be a hard one, but may in other respects be of anymaterial and be either plain or provided with a raised or sunken design.

When using a plain printing-surface, the colored designs of thecolor-plates .are simply transferred to the printing-plate and to thepaper, showing mere copies of the original de signs; but if theprinting-surface itself is provided with a design the impression on thepaper will show this design in the different colors corresponding to thedesigns of the color-plates. Two kinds of design different in form willthen appear 011 the paper, the one consisting of the design of theprinting-plate and the other being composed of the designs of thecolor-plates applied to and constituting the printed parts of the firstdesign. By these means there will be combined in the final impressionthe design of the printing-surface and those of the color-plates, and bycombining the same infinitely-Varying effects may be attained notattainable by consecutive printing. In art reproduction-say in thethree-color process, for instance the color plates may consist of thethree primary halftone plates for red, blue, and yellow and theprinting-form of a plain surface or likewise of a half-tone plate orother engraved plat-e.

By using color-plates and a printing-plate consisting of surfaces ofzinc or aluminium or of lithographic stones my invention is renderedapplicable to chromolithographic printing.

The elastic transfer-rollers may be made of any suitable material, suchas usual ro1ler composition, leather, india-rubber, and the like.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 shows in diagram the inventionapplied to a rotary press. Fig. 2 is a similar view of the inventionembodied in a flat-bed cylinder press. Figs. 3, 4, and 5 are side andend views of so much of a rotary machine as'is necessary to illustratethe operation of the cams and color and transfer-rolls. Fig. 6 is adevelopment of the surface of the cylinder shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 7 is aview similar to Fig. 6, but showing a different arrangement of cams; andFigs. 8 and 9 are plan and side views of so much of a flatbed machine asis necessary to illustrate the operation of the cams and the color andtransfer-rolls. In the said drawings I have restricted myself to showonly the new arrangement of parts forming my invention and have omittedsuch particular means as are well known in multicolorprinting pressesand therefore not claimed by me.

Referring firstto Figs. 3, 4, 5, and 6, E is the form-cylinder, carryingon its surface the color plates or patterns A B O D and the printingform or plate g and connected by a gear E to the impression-cylinder F,Fig. 1, provided with grippers and a backing on section h. Thecolor-plates are inked in the several colors by inking-rollers a b c d,to which ink is supplied from ink-fountains e by means of sets ofrollers 1 2 3 4t 5. The colors are transferred from the color-plates tothe printingplate by means of the transfer-rollers Z, having gearscontinuously meshing with the gear of the form-cylinder. In the drawingFig. 1 I have represented but two transfer-rollers. However, thearrangement shown is susceptible of alarger number of such rollers, fourbeing shown, for instance, in Figs. 3, 4, and 5. The rollers a l) c d 70l m n are temporarily kept in contact or out of contact with the platesA B G D g by cams a b c d 70 Z m'n, cooperating with disks a b c d 70" Zm 42', mounted on the shafts of the respective rollers. The said shaftsare journaled so as to To this purpose the spring-actuated disk-carryingends of the rollers are journaled in slotted bearings a b 0 d Z m a andthe opposite ends are given a slight play in their bearings, or thebearings of the latter may be pivotally arranged. By these means thegear-wheels Zc Z of the transfer-rollers 70 Z remain in engagement withthe gear E of the form-cylinder, even in their lifted position, and aperfect register is always secured. In order to prevent shocks, theseveral cams are tapered at their ends. In the regular construction andworking of the press the several rollers are actuated with reference toFigs. 1 and 3 to o, as follows: Cylinders E F, Fig. 1, are continuouslyrevolving, and at each revolution roller a, Figs. 3 to 6, is low eredonto color-plates A, 1) onto B, 0 onto 0, and (Z onto D, and thenlifted, each colorplate being thus inked in its individual color.

As color-plate A approaches transfer-roller 7c the latter is loweredonto the plate to receive therefrom the colored design and then liftedagain until printing-plate g approaches the roller, and then is lowereda second time in order to transfer the colored design to theprinting-plate. Likewise the second transfer-roller Z is brought intocontact with buttplates B and g, the third roller m with buttplates 0and g, and the fourth roller with butt-plates D and g. As theprinting-plate g, with the assembled colors, reaches cylinder F, themulticolor impression takes place on the paper placed on section h. Fig.7 shows a cam arrangement corresponding to Fig. 1, in which but twotransfer-rollers 70 Z are made use of, roller is transferring thecolored designs from plates A and B, and roller Z those from plates 0and D, to the printing-plate g. The cams m n of Fig. 7 may then bedispensed with; but I have indicated such cams showing no interruptionas a means for allowing of the same operation as in Fig. 1 even ifemploying more than two transferrollers, the rollers not to be used thusbeing rendered inoperative.

Fig. 2 shows a modification of Fig. 1 applied to a flat-bedstop-cylinder press of usual construction. The bed G is provided withthe color-plates A B and with the printing-plate g. a, b are thecolor-plate-inking rollers and 7t Zthe transfer-rollers engaging withthe bedrack H. The several rollers are lowered and lifted by suitablecams, rollers ZtZ thereby continuously .remaining in engagement with therack in order to register with the plates,

while the register of the impression-cylinder is secured by the rack H,as well known in stop-cylinder presses. The rollers are actuated asfollows: Roller Ct is lowered only onto color-plate A and 1) only ontocolor-plate ]3 whenever the said plates pass underneath the respectiverollersthat is to say, in the to-and-fro movement of the bed-thesemovements being controlled by cams a b, as usual. Rollers 7c and Zarepreferably lowered only at the left-hand stroke of the bed and keptlifted from the plates during the with plates g and B right-hand strokeof the bed. For this purpose, besides the cams Z0 Z3 and Z Z Z and thedisks 70 Z corresponding therewith, the slotted bearings for thespring-actuated shaft ends of rollers 7c Z are provided in a lever 19,pivoted to the framework and actuated by a continuously-revolvingcam-disk q, a roller 0" of lever bearing against the edge of disk q. Thelatter performs one revolution during the to-an d-fro' movement of thebed in such manner that the reduced portion of the cam-disk passesunderneath roller 7" during the lefthand stroke of the bed, rollers 70 Zthen being in a condition to freely cooperate with theircontrolling-cams 7t 70 and Z, Z, and Z respectively; but as the bed ismoved toward the right the projecting portion of cam-disk q passesunderneath roller 0", and lever 10 is thereby kept in a raised position,so as to prevent rollers 70 Z being lowered during the right-handstrokes of the bed. As the bed begins its stroke toward the left rolleris is lowered onto the printing-plate g and onto the color-plate Aroller Z is lowered onto the printing-plate then lifted during thepassage of color-plates A and lowered again when reached by color-plateB The impression takes plates at the same stroke of the bed as soon asprinting-plate g reaches the impression-cylinder F. During the followingright-hand stroke of the bed the impression-cylinder is stopped androllers ZcZ are kept inoperative in their lifted position. From this itwill be clear that when starting the press at the first left-hand strokeof the bed no impression will take place, but only the designs of thecolor-plates will be delivered to the respective transfer-cylinders. Atthe beginning of the next left-hand stroke of the bed the designs willthen be transferred from the transfer-cylinders to the printingplate andprinted on the paper, while at the same stroke the transfer-cylinderswill again receive the colored designs from the colorplates thus readyto transfer the same to the printing-plate at the beginning of the thirdleft-hand stroke of the bed, and so on. For more common work rollers 70Z may be made likewise operative during the right-hand stroke of thebed, but obviously with the same restrictions that roller 70 workstogether only with plates g and A and roller Z only The modificationsreferred to with respect to Fig. l are obviously applicable to thepresent arrangement.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, 1s-- 1. In a multicolor-printing press, thecombinationwith an impression cylinder or member, of a support orcarrier having a printingplate and a plurality of color-plates affixedthereto, inking devices for applying colors to the color-plates, and oneor more transferrolls for transferring the several colors from thecolor-plates to the printing-plate, said printing-platc being arrangedto coact with the impression cylinder or member, substantially asdescribed.

2. In a multicolor-printing press, the combination with animpressioncylinder or member, of a movable support or carrier having a itprinting-plate and a plurality of color-plates afiixed thereto, inkingdevices including rolls for applying colors to the color-plates, meansfor moving said inking-rolls at proper intervals into contact with theirrespective colorplates and one or more transfer-rolls for transferrin gthe several colors from the colorplates to the printing-plate, saidprintingplate being arranged to coact with the impression cylinder ormember, substantially as described.

3. In a multicolor-printing press, the combination with an impressioncylinder or member, of a revolving cylindrical support or carrier havinga printing-plate and a plurality of color-plates affixed thereto, inkingdevices for applying different colors to the colorplates, and one ormore transfer-rolls for transferring the several colors from thecolorplates to the printing-plate, said printingplate being arranged tocoact with the impression cylinder or member, substantially asdescribed.

4. In a multicolor-printing press, the combination with an impressioncylinder or member, of a support or carrier having a printingplate and aplurality of color-plates affixed thereto, inking-rollers for applyingcolors to the color-plates, transfer-rolls for transferring the severalcolors from the color-plates to the printing-plate, and means for movingthe inking-rolls and the transfer-rolls to and from the pat-h ofmovement of the printingplate and color-plates, substantially asdescribed.

5. In a multicolor-printing press, the combination with an impressioncylinder or member, of a support or carrier having a hard printing-plateand a plurality of hard colorplates affixed thereto, inking devices forapplying colors to the color-plates, and one or bination with a supportor carrier having a printing-plate and a plurality of color-platesmounted thereon in fixed relation to each other, of one or moretransfer-rolls geared to said support or carrier and arranged totransfercolors from said color-plates to the printing-plate, substantially asdescribed.

7. In a multicolor-printing press, the combination with a movablesupport or carrier having a printing-plate and a plurality ofcolor-plates thereon in fixed relation to each other, of one or moretransfer-rolls permanently geared to said support or carrier, and meansfor moving said transfer roll or rolls into and out of the path of saidplates at proper intervals without interrupting the gearing of saidrolls with the carrier, substantially as described.

8. In a multicolor-printing press, the combination with an impressioncylinder or member, of a support or carrier having a printingplate and aplurality of color-plates carried in fixed relation thereon, inkingdevices for applying colors to the color-plates, one or more transferrolls in permanent engagement by means of gearing with said support orcarrier, and cams arranged upon said support or carrier and adapted tomove the transfer-rolls to and from the said plates at proper intervalswithout interrupting their geared engagement with the carrier, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

IVAN ORLOFF.

\Vitnesses:

N. TSCHEVALOFF, J. BLAU.

